


That Which You Love

by Dexterous_Sinistrous



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Marvel Cinematic Universe Fusion, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Bad Friend Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Derek Hale as Black Widow, Fix-It, M/M, Stiles Stilinski as Hawkeye, Swearing, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-10 13:02:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19906141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dexterous_Sinistrous/pseuds/Dexterous_Sinistrous
Summary: What you seek lies in front of you, as does what you fear. For one of you … in order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. An everlasting exchange.A soul, for a soul.~*~Or, the one where the soul stone requires a sacrifice, and Derek & Stiles fight about it.





	That Which You Love

**Author's Note:**

> This was an anonymous prompt request done for charity. I hope you enjoy this nonnie, and as asked, I fixed Endgame (lolz).
> 
>  **Quick Reference:**  
>  Derek as Black Widow  
> Stiles as Hawkeye  
> Lydia as Iron (Man) Maiden  
> **Allison as Pepper Potts  
> Danny as Hulk  
> **Boyd as Thor (*whimpers* Boyd with long hair--and the god of thunder *swoons*)  
> Scott as Captain America (cause that was a selfish decision at the end of Endgame, wasn't it? WHAT ABOUT BUCKY, STEVE?!)  
> **Isaac as Bucky
> 
> **=unfortunately, these characters are only referenced; (I'd have to write quite a saga to get all the love I have for this AU in there ... maybe one day)

_Let me go._

Stiles squeezed his eyes shut, his hands tightened into fists, pressed against the jagged terrain beneath him. His forehead scraped across the ground, his voice hoarse as another scream tore through him—like razor blades slicing his throat, leaving it raw in their wake. Tears burned his eyes as he tried to get that image out of his mind.

Of Derek’s lifeless body at the bottom of the mountain’s abyss.

_It’s okay._

_No, no it’s not!_

_Stiles … let me go._

Stiles had only realized what had happened when he awoke in an endless horizon of water, a shallow lakebed giving him a stable footing to stand. He felt the warmth radiating from the stone clasped tightly in his hand.

The dimly lit orange sky did nothing to take away from the shining brilliance of the soul stone. It almost sparkled when Stiles turned his hand to the side, trying to examine the stone for a better understanding of what happened. His tears came quickly when he realized it wasn’t a nightmare—Derek sacrificed himself for _this_.

If it wasn’t for Derek’s soul embodying the stone, Stiles was certain he would have cast the thing aside. Instead, he pressed it against his chest, holding the stone over his heart as he closed his eyes. He imagined the warmth being replaced by the touch of a tender and sure hand, one he had come to know the touch of all too well.

~*~

_What you seek lies in front of you, as does what you fear. For one of you … in order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. An everlasting exchange._

_A soul, for a soul._

~*~

“Where’s Derek?”

It was a simple question, one any of them could have made when seeing that Stiles was the only one sitting on the scaffolding.

But it was still too soon—it hurt too much.

Stiles remained silent as he tightened his hold on the infinity stone in his hand, as if that would protect Derek’s soul somehow. “Did you know?” His voice was rough, grated by his yelling.

“Know what?” Scott asked, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to figure out Stiles’ meaning.

“Did you know,” Stiles started again, turning his head to look at Scott and the others. “Did any of you know what has to be done for _this_?” He held up the soul stone, allowing the others to see a sliver of its brilliance.

“You got it,” Lydia softly uttered in disbelief, her helmet retracting to expose her face.

“Answer me!” Stiles snapped at them, his tears coming back to him as his anger took over. “Did you know one of us had to die?!”

“Stiles—”

“You sent the two people who loved each other—” Stiles’ voice cracked. “You knew, didn’t you? That there had to be a sacrifice of the thing you love.”

“There was no telling—”

“I knew,” Scott softly admitted.

Stiles wore a blank expression on his face.

“Scott,” Lydia spoke his name with disbelief in her voice.

“I suspected,” Scott elaborated. “Thanos mentioned a sacrifice—he never said what it was.”

“Send the most broken, and see which one comes back,” Stiles spoke with venom in his words.

“We all knew the risks,” Scott replied.

“And what if I don’t give you the stone now,” Stiles suddenly countered. “Keep something from you like you did us!”

Lydia turned to look at Stiles. “What Scott did was wrong, Stiles,” she started, taking a step towards him. “But keeping it won’t bring Derek back.”

Stiles shook his head. “You all knew he’d do it— he always does the right thing.” His tears were in an endless stream now, unable to stop the sob that hiccupped out of his chest. He crumpled to the ground, holding the stone close to his chest as he cried. He was too exhausted to argue when Lydia wrapped him up in her arms, holding him tightly.

“I’m sorry,” Lydia softly uttered.

~*~

Derek was sitting so he faced the cliff’s edge. His eyes were glued to the open space in front of them, as if he was calculating how long it would take for one of them to plummet down.

Stiles’ pacing expanded to go in front of Derek, his muttering getting worse.

“Stiles,” Derek softly spoke his name, trying to gain the other man’s attention.

“We’ll just have to figure it out—maybe one of us can rappel down,” Stiles stated as he looked at Derek. “Shit, we don’t have rope.”

“I’m sure they’ve thought of that,” Derek replied, a small smile pulling at his lips as he observed him. He had always admired Stiles’ determination when faced with any situation—even an unbeatable one. “We both knew we were risking a lot coming here,” he started, moving to stand up. He took a few steps closer to Stiles, easily grasping Stiles’ hand when the other man tried to start pacing again.

Stiles paused, turning to look at Derek. His eyes dashed back and forth, across Derek’s face as he tried to read him. In their years working together, he had gotten pretty attuned to Derek’s eyebrows, and what it meant for their situation.

Stiles had only ever seen Derek’s eyebrows look like this once before—Budapest. It wasn’t something Stiles wanted to remember, but he was fond of Derek playing off as more a shitshow than how dangerous it had been.

“We have to get that stone,” Derek stated. He could see the determination in Stiles’ eyes die out.

“That means… ” Stiles stopped, pressing his mouth into a thin line as he thought about it. He faintly nodded, tightening his hold on Derek’s hand. “Okay,” he weakly croaked, nodding his head to reassure himself. He looked up at Derek as he spoke, “And we both know who it has to be.”

Derek frowned, his brow flinching some at Stiles’ words. He looked down at their hands, threading their fingers together. “Yeah, we do,” he replied.

A weight like a brick dropped into Stiles’ stomach.

“I have a feeling you and I aren’t talking about the same person,” Stiles stated.

Derek looked at Stiles. “I’m talking about the correct person,” he replied.

“No, you’re talking about you,” Stiles almost snapped. “You are not going over that cliff—”

“Oh, and you are?” Derek retorted.

“Yes,” Stiles vehemently stated.

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am.”

“No, I am.”

“That’s a stupid argument, Derek, and besides, that’s _my_ line!”

“If our plans with the stones works, your family is going to be alive and waiting for you, Stiles,” Derek explained, as if that made sacrificing himself clearly worth it.

“That doesn’t—” Stiles bit off his words, shaking his head. “Derek, I can’t— I don’t deserve to see them again. I _can’t_ see them again—not after what I’ve done.”

Derek frowned. “You’re a good person, Stiles.”

“Don’t you dare pull that,” Stiles snapped at Derek. He shook his head.

“I’ve worked for the past five years to get to this moment, Stiles,” Derek softly stated, reaching his other hand out to cup Stiles’ cheek in his palm. His eyes roamed Stiles’ features, taking in what the years had done to him—to them both.

Stiles’ hair was cut jaggedly, sharp lines cutting through his buzzed short sides. His hair was in slight disarray sitting on top of his head in furious angles and in all directions; it was from all the times he pulled at his hair in nervous habit. His sleeve tattoo was peaking out from beneath his tactical gear, Derek knowing the various mythical creatures of vengeance and justice that sprawled over his once bare skin.

Stiles hated needles.

But losing almost everyone changed him, just like it changed Derek.

“This is what it’s all been about—bringing everybody back.”

“Don’t you dare try and get decent on me,” Stiles retorted, pulling away from Derek’s touch, despite how much he wanted it.

“You think I want to do it?” Derek asked, his voice lighter. “We’re stuck here, Stiles—you and me. And I’m not going to let it be you that jumps—I’m trying to save your life, Stiles.”

“Yeah?” Stiles incredulously started as he stepped into Derek’s space. “Well, what if I don’t want you to, huh?” He shook his head. “You know what I’ve done, Derek. What I’ve become.”

“I don’t judge people on their worst mistakes,” Derek gently replied.

“Maybe you should,” Stiles whispered as he struggled with keeping his emotions in check.

Derek answered with a small smile, “You didn’t.”

He remembered how frightened he had been when he came face to face with Stiles. He had looked down the arrow strung in Stiles’ bow, believing it was his last few seconds of life. He didn’t realize he had been holding his breath until the arrow whizzed by his head to hit the assassin coming in the door behind him. He took the hand Stiles offered, seeing it as the saving grace it was.

Stiles swallowed the lump in his throat, his vision blurring with tears. He finally rescinded, “You’re a pain in my ass, you know that?”

They both leaned forward, their foreheads pressed together as their hands clung tightly to one another’s.

“Stiles, I … ” Derek broke off before he could say it. He didn’t want to ruin the moment, or to make Stiles change his mind. He didn’t want the first time he said it to be the last—to settle Stiles with that fixture of guilt.

“I’ve always loved you,” Stiles stated instead.

Derek released a watery laugh. “You weren’t supposed to get attached.”

“You did,” Stiles answered, knowing what Derek had been about to say before he stopped himself.

“I do, you know,” Derek stated, opening his eyes as he pulled back some. “You’re the last thing I love in this world—you have been for a while.”

Stiles leaned forward, pressing their lips together in an uncoordinated kiss.

Maybe it was selfish of them both to give in.

“You win,” Stiles softly spoke against Derek’s lips. He opened his eyes to look at Derek one last time.

Stiles quickly swept Derek’s legs out from under him, his hand planted on Derek’s chest as he pinned him to the ground.

Derek was winded by Stiles’ surprise attack, falling onto his back with little grace.

“Tell my dad I love him,” Stiles stated.

Derek angrily grabbed Stiles, flipping him over his side with a quick change over. He rolled onto his feet, standing up as he pointed his taser at Stiles. “Tell him yourself,” he stated, using the lowest stun setting to delay Stiles from chasing him. He turned, running for the cliff’s edge.

Stiles struggled, reacting as quick as he could to get the taser off his vest. He managed to get it off with enough time to string an arrow into his bow. He shot to the side of Derek, watching as the small bomb detonated to throw Derek off balance. He stood up, casting his bow aside as he started to run directly for the cliff. His eyes briefly connected with Derek’s.

Derek was stunned for a second, thinking he couldn’t get to Stiles in time. He forced himself to run.

Stiles was surprised when he was tackled just as his feet left the ground. He spun and fell with Derek, both of them falling towards the bottom. They suddenly stopped when a metal line tautly tightened and held them dangling from the cliff’s edge.

Stiles made sure he had ahold of Derek, preventing him from falling. He looked up at the metal line, recognizing it as a safety line that they both used more than once during their previous missions together. He looked down at where the line was attached to his holsters.

Stiles looked down at Derek, using his free hand to hold onto the safety line. “Damn you,” he cursed at Derek when he tried to lift him. Their weight was too much for Stiles to balance.

“Please,” Stiles almost prayed as he tried to turn and lift Derek up. He knew it was hopeless—that he was the one stuck to the cliff.

“Let me go,” Derek answered Stiles’ desperate plea.

Stiles shook his head. “No, don’t do this to me, Derek.”

“It’s okay,” Derek gently spoke to Stiles.

“No, no it’s not!” Stiles yelled back at him.

“Stiles … let me go,” Derek pressed, an earnest look of pleading covering his features.

“Please, no,” Stiles almost begged, feeling his grip on Derek’s hand slipping. “Please—”

There was a gentle smile on Derek’s lips as he planted his foot against the cliff face, making Stiles’ decision for him as he pushed back, tearing himself out of Stiles’ grip.

Stiles’ scream echoed across Vormir’s empty terrain.

~*~

Stiles sat at the table as he listened to the other prepare for sending the infinity stones back.

They did it—they won. All it took was billions of people suddenly existing once again. And a few messed up timelines later, but Danny tried to tell them it should all work out once they put the stones back.

Stiles didn’t believe him. Or maybe he didn’t care—he couldn’t really tell the difference at the moment. He had been overjoyed when his dad called him, never realizing how numb he had felt until he fell to his knees and sobbed into the phone as his father told him it’d be okay.

It wouldn’t—Derek wasn’t here.

Danny said he tried to bring him back, but with the soul stone there it had been impossible to get Derek back.

_An everlasting exchange._

_A soul, for a soul._

Stiles pulled on the chain around his neck, lifting the stone out from under his shirt. He had taken it for safekeeping, wearing it next to his heart. He thought of it as protecting Derek’s soul from being used for some other divine miracle that benefited everyone but them.

Stiles was bitter, and he admitted it when Lydia confronted him. He lost the man he loved, for a chance to have strangers back. He knew it was selfish.

“You sure you want to do this?” Lydia asked Stiles as she walked with him to the portal conductor.

“Yeah,” Stiles hollowly stated.

Lydia was favoring her left arm, nursing it against her chest as she turned to face Stiles.

It had been a miracle that Lydia didn’t die when she used the gauntlet. Her suit took a majority of the blast, protecting her from too much damage. She had been ashen pale, Allison worriedly fussing over her to know if she would be alright.

In the end, Lydia’s arc reactor saved her.

“Even with what happened to Scott?” Lydia questioned when she caught Stiles glaring at her arm as if the damage done to it personally offended him.

Stiles turned his head to look and see where Isaac was talking with a considerably aged Scott. He was thankful Boyd had taken Mjölnir back to the correct timeline, thinking he might have flipped out if he saw Scott holding it once more. “You mean how he got to have his happy ending?” He turned to look at Lydia.

Lydia frowned. “I know if doesn’t seem fair—”

“It’s not fair, Lyds,” Stiles firmly stated, refusing to be kind about it. “He kept the truth from Derek and I,” he stated as he instinctively reached a hand for the soul stone. “Everyone suffered some loss. But do a headcount for who isn’t here,” he finally stated. “One person is missing. And Scott made that decision for us.”

Lydia faintly nodded, knowing that Stiles had a point. “We’re just worried that you ... ” She looked up at Stiles, pursing her lips some as she watched the way Stiles covered the soul stone in his hand. “That you won’t come back, Stiles. We know the soul stone lets you see the dead.”

Stiles shook his head. “Boyd help me out with some research, Lyds,” he softly informed her. “Derek’s soul is gone,” he weakly stated, looking down at his hand to see the glow coming from between his fingers. “It’s what powered this stone and made it a reality. It means I can’t see him, even with the stone’s power.”

Lydia released a shaky breath.

“I’m putting it back,” Stiles firmly stated, turning to walk onto the portal conductor. He nodded to Danny, realizing that the other man hadn’t noticed the second particle batch he had pocketed. He gently touched his pocket that contained the two tubes, hoping he would get a chance to use both of them.

~*~

“You can’t—” Red Skull heavily panted as he tried to get back up.

“No one has ever done it, have they?” Stiles demanded to know as he stood over the creature.

“You’ll change everything,” the Red Skull argued.

Stiles observed him before a laugh bubbled up. “You don’t know what will happen, do you?” He incredulously asked.

“You can’t take back a sacrifice,” Red Skull argued.

“It wasn’t a sacrifice willingly given,” Stiles hissed at him, taking a step forward to press down on the Red Skull’s already injured leg. He waited for the screams of protest to stop as he lifted the pressure some. “You said: an everlasting exchange, a soul for a soul.”

“Exactly!” The Red Skull yelled.

“Well, I’m giving _this soul_ back,” Stiles held up the soul stone to make his point. “Which means I can have him back,” he took a step back from the Red Skull. “And if no one has ever done it, then there is a chance...”

“No one gives up the power of the soul stone,” the Red Skull laughed at Stiles. “It’s the most powerful of the infinity stones—power and strength born from cutting off the weakness of love.”

Stiles turned to look at the Red Skull. “Maybe that’s why you don’t get it,” he simply stated. “Love isn’t weakness. And you don’t have to sacrifice it to be strong.”

Stiles started to walk towards the edge of the cliff. He could still see the debris from the arrowhead that exploded. He thought if he closed his eyes, he could even still smell Derek’s cologne. He walked to the edge of the cliff, the toes of his boots hanging off. He looked down, focusing on the ground at the depths. If he squinted through the fog, he could see the ornately carved and decorated ground, as if that made what people came here to do any better.

Stiles looked down at the soul stone, concentrating on how brightly it glowed now. “Give him back,” he breathlessly stated. “I wasn’t ready to part with him. So give him back.”

Something in the air shifted, the wind pulling at Stiles’ feet—pushing him forward.

Stiles looked down, suddenly able to see Derek’s body in the exact spot it had been when they jumped.

Stiles remembered the first mission he had taken Derek out on. Nothing went as planned and they found themselves hauled up under the scaffolding of a wartorn bridge. Derek had looked down at the water before looking at Stiles.

_Would you jump?_

_… I will if you will._

They had both instinctively shoved off the bridge just in time, avoiding a hailstorm of bullets and explosives. Stiles remembered swimming to the water’s surface, the rapid dying out once they washed down the river some. Most of all, he remembered Derek laughing.

“I will if you will,” Stiles softly said as he took a deep breath. Taking the step off the cliff, tipping himself over and off the edge, was the easiest thing he had done in over five years.

~*~

Stiles woke up in the clear, reflective waters, staring up at the burnt orange sky above him. He wondered what it screwed up—if he set off a chain reaction of events like the wings of a butterfly.

Stiles closed his eyes, wishing he hadn’t hoped it would work.

“I think I lied about not judging you for your worst mistakes,” Derek’s voice suddenly stated, startling Stiles into sitting up.

Stiles blinked his eyes open as he scrambled to sit up.

Derek was sitting beside Stiles in the water, leaning his arms against his knees.

“Der,” Stiles softly spoke, too timid to reach a hand out and touch him. All for fear that this might not be real.

“This was the worst mistake you’ve ever made,” Derek firmly stated. “You jumped off a cliff with no idea if it would work—”

“Are you real?” Stiles demanded.

Derek turned his head to look to his left, gesturing for Stiles’s gaze to follow. “You put the stone back,” he stated.

Stiles looked up to see a small, temple-like structure in the distance. He could see the soul stone hovering above the water, just in the middle of the structure of columns. He watched as the stone started to lower before disappearing into the reflective pool.

“No one has ever brought it back,” Derek stated, turning to look back at Stiles.

“But it means you’re alive,” Stiles stated in earnest, wishing for Derek to confirm it before he started to accept that this was real.

“Stiles, I should have stayed dead—”

“—don’t you fucking dare,” Stiles viciously stated as he scrambled to stand up. “Do you have any idea how devastated my father was when I told him?”

Derek looked up at Stiles, not making a move to stand.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Stiles angrily huffed. “You made my father upset—you made the man _apologize_ to me for being alive.”

Derek’s brow furrowed. “We were fighting for that the whole time—”

“I love my father, Derek,” Stiles interrupted him. “And I wouldn’t sacrifice him for anything—not even an infinity stone.” He unceremoniously dropped to his knees beside Derek. “And I refused to give you up, too.”

Derek looked at Stiles, a small frown pulling at his lips. “It’s romantic and all, but how do we get out of here, Stiles?”

Stiles snorted. “You thought I’d come all this way to get you back, and then not have an escape plan?”

Derek faintly smiled at that.

“Let’s get out of here,” Stiles urged, taking hold of Derek’s hand. “Together.”

Derek pulled Stiles into a kiss, determined to make sure they didn’t waste a moment together.


End file.
